Understanding Project Based Learning

Understanding Project Based
Learning
1
Five Characteristics of PBL
1. Projects must be central, not peripheral to
the curriculum
2. Projects are focused on questions or
problems that lead students to learn the
central concepts and principles of a
discipline.
3. Projects involve students in a constructive
investigation.
4. Projects are student-driven to some
significant degree.
5. Projects are realistic, not school-like.
2
1) Projects must be central, not
peripheral to the curriculum
(“projects are the curriculum”) 3

2) Projects are focused on questions or problems
that lead students to learn the central concepts
and principles of a discipline.
4
3) Projects involve students in a
constructive investigation.
5
4) Projects are student-driven to
some significant degree
6
5) Projects are realistic, not school-like.
7
21st Century Skills Assessment
 http://www.bie.org/videos/video/21st_cen
tury_skills_assess
8
Assessing PBL Projects
 Assessment meets many needs. It
 provides diagnostic feedback.
 helps educators set standards.
 allows one to evaluate progress and relate that progress
to others.
 gives students feedback on how well they understand
the information and on what they need to improve.
 helps the teacher design instruction to teach more
effectively.
Whenever possible, give the students the opportunity to

conduct self-assessment. When a student's assessment and
the teacher's assessment don't agree, schedule a student-
teacher conference to let the student explain in more
detail his or her understanding of the content and justify
the outcome.
9
10
Steps to enabling effective self-evaluation
1. Take time to reflect, individually and as

a group.
2. Share feelings and experiences.
3. Discuss what worked well.
4. Discuss what needs change.
5. Share ideas that will lead to new
questions and new projects.
11
Vignettes to analyze
1. Read one of the vignettes (Alabama or South
Carolina) placed on your table.
2. Be prepared to share one piece of evidence to
explain what is different.
12
Project Launch
Now, with your table team, improve your list by
comparing notes on what the project is asking you
to do.
13
Jigsaw reading in PBL
 Jigsaw is a cooperative learning strategy that

enables each student of a "home" group to
specialize in one aspect of a topic (for example,
one group studies habitats of rainforest animals,
another group studies predators of rainforest
animals). Students meet with members from
other groups who are assigned the same aspect,
and after mastering the material, return to the
"home" group and teach the material to their
group members. With this strategy, each student
in the "home" group serves as a piece of the
topic's puzzle and when they work together as a
whole, they create the complete jigsaw puzzle.
14
Three Benefits of using Jigsaw learning
1. It helps build comprehension.

2. It encourages cooperative learning
among students.
3. It helps improve listening,
communication, and problem-solving
skills
15
Resources:
 www.bie.org
 Thomas, J. W. (2000). A review of research on project-based learning. Report prepared for
The Autodesk Foundation. Retrieved May 18, 2009 from
http://www.bie.org/index.php/site/RE/pbl_research/29
 http://genyes.org/media/freeresources/assessing_tech_literacy_whitepaper.pdf
 Photos from Boston Day Evening Academy -http://www.bacademy.org/inside-
bdea/curriculum
 Individual and group work PBL for STTI and the classroom
 http://www.edutopia.org/project-based-learning-guide-implementation#pbl_assess
 http://www.readingrockets.org/strategies/jigsaw/
 https://sites.google.com/a/leyden212.org/mapping/components/assessments/formative-vs-
summative
 http://www.southbendcareeracademy.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&i
d=37:projects-vs-pbl&catid=19:class-room-articles&Itemid=101
 https://sites.google.com/a/leyden212.org/mapping/components/assessments/formative-vs-
summative
16

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Understanding Project Based

(“projects are the curriculum”) 3

Whenever possible, give the students the opportunity to

1. Take time to reflect, individually and as

 Jigsaw is a cooperative learning strategy that

1. It helps build comprehension.

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